Decade’s best No. 6: Ryan Orgitano became one of most complete players in South Williamsport baseball history

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is the latest in a series looking back at the top 10 baseball teams, coaches, games and players from last decade

Little League greatness does not guarantee high school dominance. History is filled with players who shined at the youth level before struggling at higher ones.

So while the future looked bright for young Ryan Orgitano as he overwhelmed the Newberry Little League, he never rested and assumed the good times would last. Orgitano created more good times and became one of the area’s most prolific hitters last decade because he kept working, kept grinding and kept improving.

Orgitano took the blue-collar mentality to South Williamsport and became one of the most complete players in program history. A four-year starting first baseman whose defense matched his powerful offense, Orgitano led the area in RBIs last decade, driving in more than 100 runs while nearly reaching 20 career home runs. By his junior year, Orgitano was being intentionally walked regularly and he was a 2012 area Triple Crown winner. Over his last three seasons, Orgitano never compiled an on-base percentage lower than .553 and he set an example for a program that continued to thrive, showing his teammates what tenacity and drive could produce.

“He’s a worker and he works day in and day out. He comes and gives 110 percent in games and practice every night,” former South coach Shawn Finn said in 2012. “He’s good all the way around. He knows the game inside and out. That’s not something you can coach and he has it.”

Orgitano displayed that for four years, hitting over .300 each season, consistently delivering in pressure situations and helping South win a HAC-III championship while also reaching both the 2012 District 4 Class AA final and state tournament. As a junior, Orgitano put together possibly the area’s best offensive season and he topped 20 RBIs in each of his last three years.

Wasting little time making an impact, Orgitano settled into the middle of South’s lineup as a freshman, hit a walk-off single in a key win against Hughesville and helped a team ravaged by graduation win a playoff game and reach the state quarterfinals. A year later, he hit .333 with six home runs, five doubles and 32 RBIs as South won two more playoff games, upset top-seeded Wellsboro and reached the district semifinals. It was at midseason that year when Orgitano really took flight, transitioning from emerging star to one of the state’s premier players.

And those who had not been paying attention sure woke up when Orgitano enjoyed a junior season that might make Roy Hobbs envious.

Orgitano became the decade’s first Triple Crown winner (Quentin Brown was the other in 2018), hitting .597 with nine home runs and 45 RBIs. No area player hit more home runs or drove in more runs in a season than Orgitano that year and he also scored 38 times while belting 13 doubles. Every time Orgitano batted it was must-see action and he closed the season on an 18-game hitting streak.

It was not just that Orgitano was hitting so well either. It was how he was hitting. His home runs were mammoth and he consistently delivered in South’s biggest games. His signature moment came against future Bucknell pitcher Andrew Andreychik in the district semifinals when Orgitano launched a moon shot of a 2-run home run out of Bowman Field. That home run made the difference as South dethroned the defending champions, 3-2 in 10 innings.

“I don’t think that ball’s landed yet,” South pitcher Alex Carpenter said. “I think that was the farthest ball I’ve ever seen hit.”

It was hits like those which had more and more opponents walking Orgitano as the season progressed. Loyalsock intentionally walked him in both the fifth and seventh innings of a 3-2 district championship win against South. The message was clear. If South was going to win, opponents were not going to let Orgitano be the reason why. Loyalsock rolled the dice in the seventh inning when it walked Orgitano, putting the tying run in scoring position and the winning run on first base, but it worked.

“We put Ryan Orgitano on there because we had to. We respect him and we know how good of a player and a hitter he is,” former Loyalsock coach Jeremy Eck said afterward. “Anyone who knows anything about the game of baseball knows we have to put him on there because when anybody is hitting the way he has you have to make a smart decision and not let him beat you.”

“You want to come through, but it’s not frustrating because it’s strategy,” Orgitano said. “It’s just part of the game.”

Holy Redeemer made it part of its game as well. After Orgitano hit a game-tying RBI single, the Royals had no problem walking him to load the bases in the seventh inning of a 2-2 state tournament game. Again the strategy worked. Fans did not like the walks, but it made perfect sense since Orgitano had continued his season-long rampage throughout the playoffs, hitting safely in every game and driving in runs in three of the four contests.

“I just have to keep working hard, take a lot of BP and a lot of ground balls. You have to keep playing and not stop,” Orgitano said after his monster year ended. “The next season starts tomorrow so we’ll build on it and see what we can do.”

Orgitano again did a lot. The walks became a regular occurrence and Orgitano produced a .631 on-base percentage as a senior. He also hit .477 with 21 RBIs, 19 runs and six doubles. Teams could avoid pitching to Orgitano but they could not hide from his defense. One of the decade’s best first basemen, Orgitano looked like Gumby at times, turning sure hits into outs and potential throwing errors into brilliant scoops and outs.

Early that season, Orgitano hit a key home run in a 9-5 win against eventual state champion Loyalsock and he again was the MVP for one of the district’s premier teams. His hitting streak eventually reached 24 games and in just his last three seasons, Orgitano collected 98 RBIs.

His significant mark on program history was complete. And by season’s end , a player who never rested finally could relax.